In the Dark
by 00Pandox00
Summary: In the shadow of a recent tragedy, Booth and Brennan are attempting to sort out their relationship, until a delusional murderer kidnaps Brennan. For the first time she considers the impossible- what if Booth doesn't save her? Most likely will be dark.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Spiderman **

It was a dark and stormy night.

Cliché, but true. The sky was pregnant with rain, swollen purple-gray clouds ready to unload their cargo. The clouds blocked all the stars.. Brennan shivered in the icy air, and pulled her jacket tighter around her. Even the streetlamps seemed dimmer than usual.

She walked Spiderman to the end of the block, too cold and impatient to wonder why her neighbors named their dog after a fictional superhero. It was day two, and she was already desperate to be rid of the thing; it growled at her, snapped at anyone who came near it, and had panic attacks whenever the TV, microwave, toaster, or ipod speakers were used. Right now she was particularly irritated because in good weather, Spiderman refused to leave her apartment, preferring her rug, but the moment conditions were sufficiently unpleasant, he whined to go out. She had to let him, in order to spare the carpet. So there she was.

Something was making him anxious. He was pulling back on the leach and whimpering, half choking himself. She didn't want that.

"Come here, boy. Good boy. Back to the house." she called encouragingly. The dog must have detected the false note in her voice, because it refused to move. "Please? I will reward your compliance with a dog treat!" she begged. The animal perked up it's ears, and seemed about ready to listen. Brennan smiled in relief.

The smile disappeared as Spiderman started barking as loudly as possible.

"Shh, shh, come on, come here boy."

She wished she could carry him, but it was some kind of German Sheppard mix, and was fairly large. For once, she didn't know what to do. Would Booth know?

"Hey." A man said, approaching her. He was tall and slim, with piercing blue eyes and pale skin. He was frowning.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what's wrong with him." she apologized, gesturing at the canine. The man's face softened.

"Here boy, c'mere.!" he called. Spiderman stopped barking and looked at the man curiously.

"Here!" the man commanded again. The dog wagged his tail and cautiously approached him. He leaned down and patted Spiderman's head with a smile.

"Thank you." Brennan said gratefully. A few fat raindrops fell and splattered on the sidewalk, reminding her of the imminent storm. "I appreciate it immensely, but I've got to go now. It's starting to rain."

He studied her for a long minute, and more rain fell, faster. She nodded politely and turned away, desperate to get in to her apartment. When she was safe under the porch, about to enter the building, she looked for him, and there he was in the downpour, still watching her. She ran upstairs and bolted her door shut.

-The Next Day-

Booth thought she was overreacting.

"You're sure he was still standing there?"

"Positive."

"It was dark and raining and a streetlight was out?"

"That doesn't change what I saw."

"So, he stood around for a moment. Maybe he liked the rain."

"What's happened to you, Booth?" she asked, frustrated. "A couple of weeks ago and you would've had a full background check done. That is excessive, but you could at least show some concern for my safety."

"I am concerned. I just know you can take care of yourself." His brown eyes met hers, and she could see a mix of emotions in them. She couldn't understand what those emotions were, but she could tell they were generally negative.

"You said nothing would change." Brennan said. She had no clue why she said that, but it somehow seemed appropriate.

"You said we would never mention it."

"I told you how sorry I am… it wasn't my fault!"

"I know it wasn't."

"But you don't believe it."

He handed her a cup of coffee and took a long sip of his own, grimacing as his tongue was scalded. Then he took another sip. Apparently he would rather burn himself then talk about what happened.

"I do believe it, and I'm trying. But it's hard."

"I know that, Booth. You know what you do when bad stuff happens? You move on!"

"I can't! Its been two weeks! These things take time, and I'm not you! I can't be sad for a week and then just get over it!"

"I'm not expecting that. Not so soon. I expect that you understand that eventually you will have to move past it, which you don't seem to have grasped. Also, you are normally very clear on each person's responsibility in a situation, and you don't seem to understand that it wasn't your fault, or even my fault."

"Bones… I said I don't blame either of us."

"I know what you said. And I know what you meant." Brennan left him there and went to the car, sliding into the passenger seat. She had decided a long while ago that she didn't like this emotional stuff; it was too much of a burden. She couldn't stand him for blaming her, but Ange said it would pass. Angela said Booth was blaming everyone, not just her, and himself most of all, because he loved them, and where there was love there was forgiveness, and where there was forgiveness there was healing. Since Booth felt he could never love, forgive, or heal by blaming someone who's fate was in the hands of the United States Judicial system, he was doing the best he could.

Brennan could see the logic of that, but she still didn't speak to him when he finally got into the car.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Ellie**

They were quiet as they walked into the lab, and each split for their respective office as soon as it was reasonable. Both had work to finish up from a quick check out case that turned out to be a natural death, which was nice. It gave them something to do, but nothing too overwhelming.

Booth hurried though his portion, and then flipped through his phone to _her_ picture, while he had the privacy. She was about thirty, with deep red-brown hair and hazel eyes, flawless pale skin with the most delicate sprinkling of freckles. Men had tumbled head over heels to date her, and Booth had been one of them in his youth, but Ellie only had eyes for Anson Braddock. Booth's first love. Now nothing more than rot, a photo and a memory.

He sighed and for the millionth time that morning wished he could have saved her, sinking back to when she had died in his arms, the rich stink of blood and death surrounding them. He remembered she had smiled and touched his face.

"_Seeley. Dear Seeley. It's been a marvelous life, has it not? Anson… I was loved by him. How wondrous, to be loved by him, and to love him back." she had told him, her eyes shining with a light that mere death could not extinguish, no matter how horrifically it came about. _

_"No, you're staying. You'll see him again." Booth whispered franticly. _

_"Don't lie to me, not now. I…I have peace." she whispered, her voice dimming. Booth could feel her slipping. _

_"No…"_

_"I forgive him. Ok? I do. Oh, it's beautiful…" she said, but then her breath caught in her throat, and she grabbed his hand and smiled radiantly once more, closing her eyes. For a moment, she trembled. Then she was gone, and the light was gone with her._

Booth hated himself for not saving her. She had died horribly, after weeks of agony, and what had she offered? The same love and forgiveness to the man who had killed her that she would give to an intimate friend who had wronged her. How could he let someone like that die?

He banged his fist on the table hard, staring at her picture, still lost in the past. If Bones had just listened to him and his instinct, and hadn't insisted on that one, final soil sample, Ellie would be alive. Hurt, traumatized, but living.

With a sigh, he shut his phone, and got up to go see whatever commotion was going on out in the lab.

-The Lab-

Cam was already barking orders at a pair of delivery boys when he arrived. She smiled warmly at him for a second, subsequently yelling for one of them to be careful! Couldn't they read that the box was marked 'fragile'?

The boys finally got the box situated, and Cam visibly relaxed. With a cheerful dismissal, she snapped on her gloves and got ready to work.

Brennan came shooting out of her office.

"I asked you to wait until I was there before opening it!" she called, racing up the steps.

"Sorry, Dr. Brennan. I got kind of excited." The two women shared a look of anticipation as Cam gently lifted the latches of the box.

"What's going on here?" Booth whispered.

"You'll see." Cam replied. Brennan cast him a sideways glance, which he chose to ignore. _Damn soil sample…_

With a creak, the rusty hinges swung up, revealing… another box.

"That was anti-climactic." he said. Brennan shushed him as Cam opened the second box… revealing a mummy.

"Shit!" Booth exclaimed, looking at the weathered corpse. "What is this?"

"New case." Bones said, shining with excitement.

"How old is this thing?"

"Just a few months, actually." Cam told him, touching the bandages lightly. "These are still in good condition."

"Yet another killer who mummifies his victims." Booth groaned.

"This killer does it particularly well." Bones said, a look of sick admiration on her face. Usually Booth was oddly charmed by her weird behaviors like this, how she could admire mummification techniques, but now they sickened him. Thankfully, the admiring was replaced by a more appropriate sadness as she gazed down at the victim.

"It's completely wrapped in linen, we'll have to take X-rays and some other scans before I can unwrap it." she said, eyes seeking his. He denied her yet again.

"Okay. Keep me updated." he said, and left them to their work, unable to handle any more doom and gloom at the moment.

Hello, readers! Please R&R, hope you like it. If you have any questions, comments, critisism, ect, don't hesitate to message me, i'm always looking to improve! Thanks :) Have a good day.

~Pandox~


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Presents**

Brennan sighed and curled up in her bed, thinking about her day. Booth especially. She missed being so lost in a case that nothing else mattered, not even emotional pain.

She tried to turn herself to the case, let the facts rock her to sleep, but she couldn't be soothed.

Come on. Female. Late thirties, early forties. Had been embalmed, packed in salt, left somewhere hot and dry for months. Cam said it meant the killer cared for his victims, in a sick, twisted, icky way. Tomorrow the bandages could be removed, and she could get hands on with the body, which would be a wealth of knowledge compared to the scans.

She couldn't be excited about the prospects of justice, of discovery. Booth was in her mind to stay.

She loved him, that much she knew. She also knew that he had loved her. What was uncertain was whether he still did, or ever could. She shivered at the prospect of losing him.

Could she survive? Go to work every day, work with the dead, forget about the only time in her life when she had ever felt truly alive? Look into his eyes, and not remember the warmth in them after their first real kiss? Erase the memories?

Never.

She turned, and a voice in the back of her head told her she wasn't going to sleep tonight.

-The Lab-

Booth breathed deeply of the chilled, sterile air as he marched up to the platform. All the squints were lined up, like little kids at Christmas, eagerly awaiting what Santa had brought them.

Cam wielded the scissors. That had been a hell of a fight- her vs. Bones, but in the end her boss status earned Cam the honor.

Slow, achingly slow, she cut the bandages from the corpse. The others held a collective breath. The wrapping fell away… revealing the mummy. The squints gasped in mutual excitement and set to work.

"Angela, see if you can make a reconstruction- shouldn't be too bad- there's still flesh. Dr. Brennan- please-"

"I know, Dr. Saroyan." Bones snapped. Wow. She was edgy.

Everyone scooted off to their respective jobs. Only Bones remained on the platform, for a few minutes of hard earned one-on-one time with the mummy.

"Female, Caucasian for sure." She muttered. "The victim was embalmed before being wrapped in cloth bandages and left in a hot, dry room. The man who found it said there were six fans circulating heated, dehumidified air around the body, resulting in the mummification."

"Hey." He said. She glanced up, then turned back to her work, ignoring him.

"The X-Rays showed that there are fractures on the tibia and the ulna, possibly from frequent beatings.

Booth winced at the imagery.

"The body is almost completely mummified. One more month would have completely finished the process."

Booth cleared his throat. She glanced up again.

"Do you need something?"

"We need to talk."

"Is it case related?"

"You know it isn't."

"Then it can wait." Brennan looked back down at the body possessively, daring him to try and steal her attentions. He sighed an backed off, allowing Bones to continue her work.

"Booth?" she called.

"Yeah?"

"You can come to my apartment. After work."

He wondered what that was about. Her place? After everything? But he shook his head and sighed, her apartment was as good a place to talk as any other.

"I can make it."

"Good. I'll see you there."


	4. Message to Readers

Hello readers!

Due to a medical family emergency, I will be taking a short hiatus for 2-3 weeks. If I magically get time to write, I will, but I think I will probably be too busy . Thanks for reading, and I promise a boatload of chapters when I get back!

~Pandox~


End file.
